


Small Christmas Tree in a Small Apartment

by Castalie



Series: The Night [8]
Category: The Sentinel
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Prostitute, Christmas fic, Established Relationship, Gritty, M/M, Prostitution
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-04-25
Updated: 2011-04-25
Packaged: 2017-10-18 16:01:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/190610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Castalie/pseuds/Castalie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>[Written in 2006] Let's just say I wanted to give the boys a break for Christmas</p>
            </blockquote>





	Small Christmas Tree in a Small Apartment

**Author's Note:**

> The Cliff's Notes would be: Blair is a prostitute and Jim isn't a cop. They are together, though. Then again, what universe would that be if they weren't, right?

"So. What do you think ?"

Jim examined the compact, decorated Christmas tree in the corner of their cramped living room cum bedroom cum kitchen, and had to smile at the sight. It did look pretty. Surprising, after their last discussion about Christmas, but definitely pretty. He was also relieved to see that the tree had been decorated with muted colors instead of bright ones, and that it wasn't hurting his eyes at all. Trust Blair to think of all the details.

"Jim?"

Jim turned his attention back to his lover and smiled reassuringly. Blair's voice was casual and his demeanor projected disinterest, but Jim wasn't fooled for a second. Obviously, since Jim could detect some anxiety, something about this issue mattered; Blair wasn't sure of himself. Which Jim wasn't used to. At all.

"It looks great, Chief."

Since he was watching his lover carefully, Jim saw him relax minutely.

"Okay. Good." Blair shrugged as if to say 'whatever, no big deal'.

Right. Jim wasn't going to press the issue - not exactly - but he was more than curious about this change of heart. "I have to ask, though. A Christmas tree? I thought we didn't do Christmas."

"Yeah, well, _I_ don't. Never really did. But..." Blair seemed to be struggling to find the right words. "I just - I wanted to give you something normal, all right? And seriously, there's nothing more 'normal' than a Christmas tree this time of the year."

"Especially as you're Jewish," Jim said, but his voice made it clear that he wasn't laughing at Blair; was indeed taking him very seriously.

"I'm what I want to be, man," Blair said, his trademark smirk plastered firmly on his face.

"So, when did you decide that we needed to be normal?" To think of Blair doing something as commonplace as buying a Christmas tree as well as going to the mall to buy some decorations... it was intriguing, even a bit difficult to imagine. But then, Jim told himself, mundane is in the eye of the beholder. What was ordinary for someone else was completely alien to Blair. Which made Blair's action even more precious to Jim.

Blair smiled at the question, though his eyes weren't reflecting the attitude he tried to suggest. "On Friday night. The last guy?" He looked at Jim to see whether his lover knew who he was referring to. Jim nodded, clenching his jaw unconsciously; yes, he did know. He had been working out of town for a couple of nights and Blair had decided to take on some of his more lucrative clients.

After he'd come home and he'd seen the marks on Blair's back, Jim had read him the riot act, but as much as Blair belonged to and with Jim, he was still his own man. No one, not even his lover, could make him his change his mind once he'd made it up. He'd explained that if Jim had to take a bigger load of work, that even drove him away from town for a couple of days, then it was only fair Blair should work harder himself. _Because equality is important when you're a couple, right?_

"When he opened his wallet to pay me," Blair was saying, "I saw this picture of him and his wife and kid. And I thought, this guy, he pays to fuck hookers and hurt them and make them feel like shit to make _him_ feel like a bigger man, and it's the same guy who's going to spend money on presents for his little boy and his wife - and I bet he'll buy something expensive so that he can feel less guilty about the money he spends on the side, you know? And just, I hated the idea of this asshole having a good time at Christmas when you wouldn't have shit."

Jim didn't say anything. When people accused him of being a cold bastard, it always made him smile inwardly, because he had nothing on Blair Sandburg. Although the Blair he lived with was different from the one the whole world got to see, it didn't change that fact; their personal differences had led to enough heated arguments to last them for a lifetime. But sometimes, Blair would totally floor him with some declaration of love that never used the actual words.

He stepped toward Blair, cupped his face and kissed him. Hard. "I never have 'nothing' when I'm with you, okay?"

Blair licked his lips, savoring the kiss, his eyes soft. Then he pressed his body tight against Jim's and nuzzled his face. "Okay."

And because Jim knew that Blair wouldn't feel comfortable with that little display of 'weakness', and because he, himself, didn't have the easiest time dealing with feelings and putting into words what he felt for this complex and infuriating man, he changed the subject. "Where did you find it, then?"

Blair moved away from Jim. He leaned against the table, and shrugged again. "Oh, I blew that guy at the corner, the one who sells those trees? So that he would give me one. And then I let his cousin, the one at that little shop where they sell all that Christmas stuff, fuck me in the back room of his store. You know, to get the decorations."

Jim stayed still and silent for ten seconds, then he all but prowled toward Blair and invaded his personal space, looming over him. He bent his head and bit the side of Blair's jaw, feeling satisfied when Blair let out a little yelp. Served him right.

"You have the worst sense of humor I've ever seen, Sandburg. The worst!"

Blair burst into laughter at that and swiftly took a step on his right, dodging the swat that Jim now aimed at him. Then more seriously, he said, "I just managed, all right?"

Jim decided to let it go. "All right."

Shaking his head fondly, Jim looked back at their little tree standing proudly in its corner and felt a rush of affection for Blair hit him. Because, for the first time in years, he finally had someone to spend Christmas with. Because, as small and crappy as their apartment might be, it was their _home_. Because, after feeling alone and lonely and cold for so long, Jim finally belonged somewhere. Belonged with someone. Someone who accepted him, every aspect of him, without question.

And yes, living in a small apartment in a shitty neighborhood with a male lover who happened to be a prostitute and being as happy as one could be under the circumstances was definitely not the kind of life Jim had envisioned when he was a kid, but it did prove that life wasn't always a bitch. It was even, sometimes, quite amusing.

"Thinking of what a wonderful lover you have, Ellison?" Blair asked, amused.

Jim grabbed Blair by the nape of his neck and bent his head to kiss those luscious lips again. He didn't have to coax them to open; they parted immediately and Blair threw himself into the kiss, making all the little noises that never failed to turn Jim on.

"Maybe," he growled.

He felt a clever hand find its way to his zipper and he groaned when Blair's hand slid inside his pants and boxers and his fingers curled around his cock. His tongue danced with Blair's for a while, and he rocked into Blair's hand for a little while longer before he drew away.

"I think we have a new to tradition to start, as well as a new area of the apartment to christen, babe."

"Oh?" Blair asked, his voice a little breathless. He was gazing at Jim through eyes that were already half-closed in anticipation. "Please," he whispered, licking a trail along Jim's jaw, "tell me about this new tradition."

"Me fucking you under the Christmas tree, of course."

Blair's laugh turned into a moan when Jim's own hands wrapped around his waist and cupped his ass.

"I love new traditions, Jim."

 _And I love you_ , Jim thought.

Sometimes happiness was no more complicated than a small Christmas tree in a small apartment, and one person by your side to share them with.

Fin


End file.
